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Old 03-19-2016, 11:35 PM
 
Location: Bordentown
1,705 posts, read 1,600,654 times
Reputation: 2533

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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsltd View Post
Not that I know Texas very well apart from reputation and other people's experiences of it, but that last statement was nauseating. Smacks of snobbery. Sounds very strange coming from someone who earns, AT BEST, less than 25K annually. If you're going to have the attitude, AT LEAST have something to show for it.
Just dwelling in a coastal state with great weather, in a "great city", is no measure of anything worthy of credit.
.
I have a feeling he's never left the bay area or set foot outside of California. I've heard similar statements made in NJ/NYC about the rest of the country once you cross the state line. " omg eww Texas.. Eww Arizona... Eww Washington... I'd only live in NYC or die" and these people considered driving from NYC to CT a "long distance drive". Not too savvy about the fact that there's a whole other world out there that could possibly be better for their needs or situation!
Also, not sure if they make $11/hr too but many people with this mentality rent their entire lives without really saving up. Living with room mates to pay the bills was cool in my early 20s and in college. 20 years later, not cool at all.
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Old 03-19-2016, 11:39 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,069,460 times
Reputation: 2158
Quote:
Originally Posted by lockdev
Honestly dude, if you're not a troll, you have no business giving anyone life, financial, or home buying advice.
No one is giving anyone financial advice.

If you make 200k or more, you can afford to buy a 1 million dollar house. That's how people buy them. Cardiac surgeons buy them (it is quite common for those people to make over 200k after taxes) and couples who work as programmers at Google buy them together; those are a couple of examples.

If you do not make at least that, you have no business trying to buy a one million dollar house.

I do agree with people who say that if you want a SFH in a desirable area, the Bay Area is not for you unless your salary is 2x the median or more. Those people are absolutely right.

Of course, many do not want or need a SFH. You can buy a condo here if you make 100k+.

So it is NOT correct to claim "no one can afford to live in the Bay Area unless they make 200k."

Many can live here who make less than that. Many do. I do. We just don't own SFHs in excellent school districts.
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Old 03-19-2016, 11:43 PM
 
Location: Bordentown
1,705 posts, read 1,600,654 times
Reputation: 2533
Yes you are giving financial advice.

Yes I am one of those people where my spouse and I work at a company like Google.

Despite whether or not a bank will lend us the amount of $1M for a house, it is above our means to pay that kind of mortgage - especially when we know values will depreciate and people around us are getting laid off since many high tech companies are going through rounds of layoffs.
So, I'll say it loud and clear, despite a lender saying we can borrow this amount, in reality...
NO, WE CANNOT AFFORD A $1M HOUSE
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Old 03-19-2016, 11:46 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,069,460 times
Reputation: 2158
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkySofiaLila View Post
I have a feeling he's never left the bay area or set foot outside of California.
Lived in Seattle area for over three years; lived in Groton, CT for 16 weeks. Also stayed briefly in Pearl Harbor and Ketchikan, Alaska. Love the Seattle Museum of Art. Loved the Seattle waterfront. Loved Godfather's Pizza.

Went underwater in the territorial waters of various places that I can't discuss.

I love the Bay Area. I grew up here. I would much rather live here than anywhere else. I don't need or want a SFH.
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Old 03-19-2016, 11:47 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,069,460 times
Reputation: 2158
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkySofiaLila View Post
Yes you are giving financial advice.
No, I'm not.

Quote:
NO, WE CANNOT AFFORD A $1M HOUSE
Then don't live in one. Move into a condo.
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Old 03-20-2016, 12:25 AM
 
Location: Bordentown
1,705 posts, read 1,600,654 times
Reputation: 2533
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutrino78x View Post
No, I'm not.



Then don't live in one. Move into a condo.

I can see why you make only... oh forget it....
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Old 03-20-2016, 12:27 AM
 
Location: Bordentown
1,705 posts, read 1,600,654 times
Reputation: 2533
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutrino78x View Post
Went underwater in the territorial waters of various places that I can't discuss.
Atlantis, huh? I guess that's where mermaids taught you financial literacy? Lol
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Old 03-20-2016, 01:16 AM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,069,460 times
Reputation: 2158
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkySofiaLila View Post

I can see why you make only... oh forget it....
Well, make up your mind. Either you can afford it or you can't.

If you can't, move into a condo. They are cheaper.

Many who make 200k+ live in one million dollar homes and can afford it. If you can't, for whatever reason, then you need to either downsize or leave the area, I guess. If you can't afford a SFH in the Bay Area you're still middle class and haven't achieved upper class yet. The price of a SFH is lower in Scottsdale and Austin, but then your salary will be, as well.

What's wrong with a condo, since you say you can't afford a SFH here?

All I can tell you is, I live here. I do not live paycheck to paycheck. I have about three months of rent in savings. And I make a lot less than you do. I make about a dollar over minimum wage. So you're not suffering. Don't get me wrong, I don't criticize you for the money you make. My dad made the equivalent in 80s dollars when we moved here when I was a little child. I grew up in the upper economic class. I'm not there anymore, though, lol. Neither is he. One of my little sisters is, though, actually. She used to be the principle of a private school and her husband founded a company. lol.
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Old 03-20-2016, 01:23 AM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,069,460 times
Reputation: 2158
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsltd View Post
Not that I know Texas very well apart from reputation and other people's experiences of it, but that last statement was nauseating. Smacks of snobbery.
Yeah, well, I'm from the Bay Area. What can I say. Your statement is like calling a Parisian or a Londoner a snob. lol.

Quote:
Just dwelling in a coastal state with great weather, in a "great city", is no measure of anything worthy of credit.
That's all I claim.

I am from the Bay Area. Silicon Valley. I GREW UP HERE.

So WHY would I want to move to TEXAS??

Just like saying that someone who grew up in Austin would somehow want to move here. WHY?

Quote:
Also, you "misspoke" but then you went right back to your insistence that a 200K income is enough for one to buy a million-dollar home.
It is. See the calculators from CNN, Zillow etc. It does depend on the down payment and it assumes you have low debt. I'll grant you that. I misspoke in that I meant to say "3x-5x", 3x being the more conservative figure.
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Old 03-20-2016, 07:57 AM
 
892 posts, read 859,713 times
Reputation: 352
Here is the rub, a single wage earner only supporting himself, making 200k a year can afford a 1 million dollar house. And comfortably at that.

A couple who has a combined income of 200k with no kids, can also afford a 1 million dollar home, but will need to make some cuts.

A couple, combined income of 200k with 2 kids, cannot afford a 1 million dollar home.
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